On Wednesday, Volkswagen said that a 22-year-old external contractor for the company had been killed by a robot at a production factory in Baunatal, Germany. Heiko Hillwig, a VW spokesperson speaking to the AP about the incident, said that the robot grabbed the worker and crushed him against a metal plate. The worker died later at a nearby hospital due to complications from his injuries.
Hillwig told the AP, "initial conclusions indicate that human error was to blame.” He added that the contractor was helping set up the robot and was inside the metal safety cage that usually separates personnel from the metal-manipulating robots. Another worker was present when the incident occurred, but because he was behind the barrier, he was unharmed. Ars has reached out to Volkswagen but has not yet received a response.
According to the Financial Times, "A Volkswagen spokesman stressed that the robot was not one of the new generation of lightweight collaborative robots that work side-by-side with workers on the production line and forgo safety cages.”
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